TESC Capstone prep work?

[ironheadjack]

Hey everyone,

I signed up for a guided study capstone course starting December 2. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to this at all.(I have never been a fan of writing long papers)

Is there anything I should be doing, or books I should be buying to prepare for the course?

[JBtesc]

I'd also be curious to know if anyone weighs in...

what are the benefits of choosing guided study rather than online for a Capstone?


Are there less writing assignments or does it still have to be a 15 page paper?

[ironheadjack]

I believe I read the course requires a 25 page paper.


I believe the major difference between guided study and an online course is the online course requires student participation in a discussion forum of some type. While it is extra work, some consider it an easy way to boost your grade a bit. Personally I just want to get this thing done, I don't want to have any obligations other then writing the paper.

[defscarlett]

LIB-495-OL

[corpsole2]

I am on Module Four of the capstone under Dr. Haydel. It does require a minimum 25 page paper that contains original research, although the whole thing doesn't have to be just your findings. I thought 25 pages sounded long, but I can already tell you that you will easily write more than that just because you will get on a roll. I am on page 21 and I have two chapters to go, plus all the other bells and whistles of a formal paper, so I think mine will be close to forty pages when I am finished. Some students end up writing so much they turn in eighty and one hundred page papers. No fear, that isn't required, but it is doable.

I'm not sure about Guided Study, but I have heard that you interact with the mentor instead of fellow students in the discussion forums.

The thing to know about the capstone is it was designed for you to display your ability to sift, synthesize, and analyze information - basically showcasing the skills you learned on the way to your degree. Dr. Haydel (who incidentally designed the course for TESC) told me that it is designed off of a master's thesis, so if you end up going to grad school you will know how to write one.

I would say start learning about APA citation, as this is what is required for social science type papers, while MLA is reserved for creative projects. APA is precise, and my first few writing assignments got dinged for not being careful enough on the citation. It wasn't bad - I ended up with a B+. Also start learning how to use the citation function on Microsoft Word, or Son of Citation Machine; they will be invaluable in the format. Learn how to do a running header, as that is a huge thing.

The thing about writing this paper is actually how redundant you end up being. You end up taking the first page or two of each assignment re-iterating your subject and the subquestions you are going to answer, and how you are answering them. One thing is for sure, academic writing is totally nonsensical to me. I write speeches and novels, where erudition is a premium. But since this is the only thing standing between me and my degree, I'll slog through it. :-)

Good luck!

[JBtesc]

I believe I read the course requires a 25 page paper.


I believe the major difference between guided study and an online course is the online course requires student participation in a discussion forum of some type. While it is extra work, some consider it an easy way to boost your grade a bit. Personally I just want to get this thing done, I don't want to have any obligations other then writing the paper.

Thanks!

And I don't know where I got 15, but wow, 25 is a lot of writing. Do they ever mention a word count or just pages?

[Arthiel]

It's just 25 pages. If you think of it as 5 pages per chapter it looks less overwhelming. And once you get into it you'll find that you're writing more than you thought.

I felt the same way as you when I started. Start thinking about topics and problem questions that you can research and answer. Make sure to pick a topic that interests you. There's a lot of technical formatting that you have to follow that, while I think it looks impressive, I find really tedious and boring. I mean, I'm not really into writing, but because I love the topic I picked, I wouldn't mind writing about it all day, every day. But having to write in such a formal way, different from how I would naturally write, kinda takes away the fun... It's not that bad if you have a lot of sources and data to use. You spend a majority of your writing repeating and rewriting what you wrote. I would try to get copies of other people's capstones to get a feel for how to structure chapters, sections, sentences...

[Gooberman11]

If you do a creative project then the paper itself is 15 (instead of 25) pages. I ended up doing the creative project (since I am interested in videography and graphic design). I think I ended up putting a ton more hours into the creative project than I would have if I only wrote a paper. I do agree with others that once you start it isn't as hard as you expect to get to 25 pages. My paper was 27 pages plus doing the creative project.
You can do this!!

[Westerner]

I felt the same way as you when I started. Start thinking about topics and problem questions that you can research and answer. Make sure to pick a topic that interests you. There's a lot of technical formatting that you have to follow that, while I think it looks impressive, I find really tedious and boring. I mean, I'm not really into writing, but because I love the topic I picked, I wouldn't mind writing about it all day, every day. But having to write in such a formal way, different from how I would naturally write, kinda takes away the fun... It's not that bad if you have a lot of sources and data to use. You spend a majority of your writing repeating and rewriting what you wrote. I would try to get copies of other people's capstones to get a feel for how to structure chapters, sections, sentences...

This ^ Exactly. There are 2 required books but one os just what you refer to for APA citation—you can get that info online (Purdue Owl, some link on TESC's website...). The other is this one: Amazon.com: Writing the Winning Thesis or Dissertation: A Step-by-Step Guide eBook: Allan A. Glatthorn, Randy L. Joyner: Kindle Store and it basically talks about how to write the type of paper they want. Might be helpful.

And then, you'll need to pick a topic. Choose a few that that you're interested in and be thinking about it. You'll need to have a major question and then 3-4 subquestions that help answer that. Answering those Qs helps answer the main Q, which is how you write the paper.

[ironheadjack]

Thanks everyone!

I bought the two required textbooks last night on Amazon. The idea of breaking it down to 5 pages per module, makes it seem less daunting. I'm still not excited about this whole thing. Lol


Am I correct in assuming that the 25 page minimum doesn't have to be 25 written pages, a few pages could be charts, graphs, tables, etc. Also does the total page count include bibliography, title page, etc.??